Christine's article in the San Mateo Times: Housing vs. car sales in Burlingame
Auto row, city's major revenue source, is prime spot to build high-density homes

BURLINGAME Auto row is Burlingame's cash cow. Its steady flow of income provides 50 percent or $4 million of the city's sales tax revenue every year, but city officials are worried about its future. "My concern is how to keep these (auto dealerships) viable long term," said City Manager Jim Nantell. "We have to look at threats to revenue streams."

Auto dealerships on California Drive sit on prime real estate from Peninsula to Howard avenues. Auto dealerships were the city's savior when hotels faltered after Sept. 11, 2001, said Councilwoman Rosalie O'Mahony. "We certainly need the auto dealers more than any business in the entire city," she said. But proponents of transit-oriented development view the area as the perfect spot for high-density housing because it is a half-mile from the Burlingame Avenue train station. Nantell worries that high-density housing would amp up the value of the land on California Drive and force dealerships to sell and move. He added that future owners or heirs of Mike Harvey and Joe Putnam's dealerships also would feel the pressure to sell when they have to pay inheritance taxes on the land. "We're going to have to make sure we know how to keep them in Burlingame now, and auto dealers knowhow best to do that," Nantell said. In the next couple of months, Putnam is expected to make a presentation to the council on what his dealerships need from the city to keep thriving, Nantell said. To accommodate auto dealers, city officials rezoned the north end of town in the Rollins Road industrial area that borders Millbrae. It fronts U.S. Highway 101, which Nantell said provides broader geographic visibility. But there are no apparent takers from dealers to open up business on the 3,000-foot stretch of land along Adrian Road to Edwards courts. That's because the area is inaccessible and far from public transportation for people who drop their cars off for maintenance at the dealerships, some dealers said. The land is also expensive for dealers to build on when some already own the land on California Drive.

Vice Mayor Terry Nagel said she would like to see the dealerships move to Adrian Court but knows it's not realistic. Instead, the goal is to attract new dealers to Rollins Road, Nagel said. O'Mahony said she would never support California Drive auto dealers moving to the industrial area because it has insufficient land and because of the tax implications that would go with the move. "They're happy and they don't want to go anywhere," she said. "I don't want to see the auto dealers move out because of housing." Nagel does see the benefits of transit-oriented development. "You get more value out of the land, improves safety, and creates vibrancy in the downtown area," she said. "It becomes a more exciting place to live. The idea is that prime pieces of real estate around the train station should not become just passive places where we park cars."

To Mike Harvey the Acura and Honda dealer the real threat to auto dealers on California Drive is the potential closure of the Burlingame Avenue train station not high-density housing. On Feb. 22, City Council had the opportunity to approve Caltrain's $12 million project that would have closed off South Lane and made Burlingame Avenue train station's platforms safer and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. "It seems now that there's a very strong possibility that Caltrain could bypass the Burlingame Avenue station," said Harvey, who worries that the value of the land would plummet. "What I'm fearful of is that at some point, federal officials will tell Caltrain to shut it down. That would isolate Burlingame both from a residential and businesses standpoint. (The station is) most important to the viability of auto row and residents." He further criticized the council's plan for the possibility of a grade separation at the Broadway train station, which has been closed on weekdays. It is another project, he said, that would alter the geography of Burlingame and isolate dealerships near Broadway. Harvey warned the council to not play with "one of the most significant income sources the city has" and to be careful in making "plans for auto dealers who have been here in the same location almost since the turn of the century."

Once again some heavy hitting from our cash cows. Lets hope this is not another deja vu Caltrain moment when we threaten (cajole?) if we do not get our own way. The republic of Burlingame is alive and well and kicking!

– Written by Fiona